Layers
by Alixa
Summary: What I think would have happened if Jackson never received the phone call on the plane telling him to go ahead with the plan. LJ pairing, please R
1. A Change of Plans

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except my fanatical love for Red Eye, Lisa & Jackson, and of course Cillian Murphy.**

**Jackson**

_I ought to win a goddamn Oscar for that performance_, thought Jackson Rippner to himself as he settled into his seat with an air of boredom. His rendezvous with Lisa had been nothing less than entertaining. He had been itching to see her up close and personal for the past eight weeks and he wasn't disappointed. Not that he hadn't seen her up close before but somehow this time was different. She had actually been aware of his presence. To his surprise he was attune to more than awareness, she actually _wanted_ to be in his company. Not that it was difficult to charm her.

_After all, I probably know her better than she knows herself_, he thought smugly.

Fumbling with his seatbelt he recalled how easy she had been to manipulate. Like putty in his hands. If he wasn't such a professional he would have liked to rub more than her usual drink in her face. It was laughable how she had purposefully ordered the baybreeze.

_Oh Lisa, you're so predictable. _

It had started in line in the airport when he helped Lisa stand up for that airline worker. A few witty remarks here a few flirtatious comments there was all that it took. And then he couldn't help but jerk her chains a little. He saw the struggle within herself at his forwardness when he suggested saving her a seat at the bar across from their gate. He knew she would refuse, as was her style when tete a tete with an opportunity at being social. She was very much a loner.

But then again so was he.

He wondered just what it was that made her keep to herself so much. Had she been jilted by an ex-lover? Or was there some kind of skeleton lurking in the closet? He presumed the latter as he noticed the air of cautiousness that seemed to encircle her at all times. In parking lots especially he noticed how her dark eyes darted back and forth, sweeping the area meticulously. How she always had her hand in her pocket clutching what, pepper spray perhaps? And how her features relaxed considerably once she was nestled in the safety of her car, after she locked the doors of course.

Drumming his fingers on the armrest, Jackson's crystalline eyes scoured the passengers trickling onto the plane. Any moment now Lisa would be coming down the aisle and he could envision her reaction when she realized he was her seatmate. With the exception of why she was the way she was, he was confident he knew everything about her. And not in the mundane likes and dislikes kind of way.

Lisa had been his pet project for two months solid and he ate, slept, and breathed her. At first she appeared to be uncomplicated. To put it simply he chalked her up as another boring, homebody workaholic. But very quickly he realized there was much more to her than that. There were layers and layers of complexity and he had only scratched the surface. For reasons unbeknownst to him he wanted, no, _needed_ to know what made her tick. Perhaps he would figure it out on the way to Miami since he had nothing else to do.

Originally, this flight was meant for him to coerce her into changing Keefe's hotel room, but he got a call from his client letting him know that there was a change of plans and the hit would no longer take place at the Lux Atlantic.

He thought it a shame that the Keefe job had been postponed. It would have been one of his easier jobs. Jackson had been on tenterhooks all night waiting for that phone call.

_And it couldn't have come at a better time, _he reflected with a start.

Despite his unruffled exterior something about his encounter with Lisa left him strangely unnerved. He actually found himself tongue-tied when it had been time to part. Luckily his cell phone had gone off, sparing him of whatever asinine comment he undoubtedly was going to make.

Jackson's brow furrowed at the unsettling thought and wondered what it was that got him so flustered. Before he could come to any kind of conclusion his eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar face surrounded by a halo of dark curls. Lisa.

Pushing all disturbing thoughts aside he relaxed his jaw and rearranged his features into a look of complete innocence….or at least something resembling it.


	2. Transparency

**Lisa**

Lisa Reisart was certain that something or someone in the cosmos hated her.

Ever since the rape she had become despondent, withdrawn and put all her energy into her work instead of her life. All of her relationships were strained and she was constantly finding herself pushing people away. It's not like she enjoyed the solitude of her empty apartment or all those long, lonely nights, it was just her coping mechanism. She felt safer not letting anyone break down her barriers by getting too close to her.

But something bewildering happened; her encounter with Jackson, brief as it was, completely rattled her. For the first time in two years she found herself wanting more. He managed to connect with her in a way nobody had been able to lately. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something about him made her feel more like her old self, who she was before the incident. Despite her reservations, she joined him for a drink and was positive that _something_ would come out of it.

Jackson didn't say anything too suggestive to make her think their tryst was anything more than a way to kill time, but something deep inside her said otherwise. Lisa was sure she could detect something in his eyes and found herself sneaking constant glances at him over her drink. Here was a man with the ability to actually captivate her with a mere glance and she smiled as he languidly tossed back his jack and coke. At times she caught him looking at her questionably and she wondered if he was some kind of mind reader, causing her to pinken slightly.

Screw the flight to Miami, what she wanted was to sit by the bar with him all night. It felt like she was in some kind of dream. But like all dreams she eventually had to wake up to harsh reality. With the simple distraction of a phone call he bid her farewell leaving her with the discomfiture of her delusions. It was ridiculous really the way life seemed to taunt her.

Her mind full of erratic thoughts, Lisa gingerly boarded the plane and scanned the seats in first class hopefully. When she realized Jackson was nowhere to be seen she sighed and pushed her way into coach.

_18G where are you?_ Lisa wondered impatiently, squinting at the numbers running along the wall.

_Well there's 18F….so I'm obviously right next to…Jackson!_ Lisa's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh…hi…again," she said trying to disguise her pleasure at seeing him.

Jackson peered up at her with friendly eyes, "I figured you'd be in first class."

"Oh no, no, not me I'm all coach all the time," she interjected quickly.

"Me too," he said with a small laugh.

_Oh God, can he tell how nervous he makes me? _Lisa wondered frantically.

"I…think that's my seat," she said hesitantly.

Jackson looked at the seat to his right with skeptical eyes.

"What? You're not sitting here?" he asked in surprise.

'Well? I don't know, does that say 18G?" she asked.

_I am such an idiot, of course it says 18G, _Lisa thought, wondering how foolish she appeared as she thrust her ticket towards him.

Jackson leaned towards her, "You're kidding….you're not kidding…uh, you need a bellhop?" Gallantly, he jumped up to help her.

"Uh, no, that's okay," she replied. Ignoring her protests and Jackson picked up her bag and began to stow it in the overhead compartment.

_What a nice guy_, Lisa thought to herself as she backed into her seat. Deep in contemplation, she backed into her seat and in the process nicked her head on the ceiling.

Grabbing her head in embarrassment she noticed that Jackson was staring at her.

"You okay?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah," she winced.

"You sure?"

"Yeah…I'm not normally such a lightweight," she said hoping she didn't sound as big an idiot as she felt, "Some strong baybreezes," she added lamely.

Lisa looked away from the piercing gaze of her seatmate; she was picking up on a strange vibe. She remembered how insistent Jackson had been on her ordering a seabreeze. Now, she could admit to herself that she purposefully ordered the baybreeze…but that was only because she wasn't comfortable with her predictability.

The only problem was he seemed to realize this as well. So either she was pretty damn transparent or Jackson Rippner _was_ a mind reader.

Quirking an eyebrow at him, Lisa wondered what else he knew.

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A million thanks to all of you who reviewed, and please bear with me….I'm trying to stay true to the movie so you may have recognized some direct dialogue, hopefully it didn't bore anyone.


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